Sales Promotion Sales promotion can mean many different things to many different businesses. It could mean something as simple as having a good looking girl in a bikini had out samples of their products, to multi-million dollar television commercial advertising during the Super Bowl. Depending on what the company is selling, there are different routes a company should take in their sales promotion effort. Companies should consider their target market. This means considering who may be interested enough in their product to buy it. This is basic marketing 101. For example, think about who would be the perfect person to use, eat or drink your product and build on that ideal. Much of this is simply common sense. You wouldn't try to sell an energy drink to nursing home any more than you would try to sell adult diapers to a college crowd on spring break in Daytona Beach, Fl. This may seem to be a humorous statement, and truly, it is. This is just to emphasize how logical these concepts can be. Companies can get very caught up in trying to get their sales promotion on the right track, that they can't see the forest for the trees. They have a tendency to make things much more difficult than they need to be. Sales promotion can be as simple as having an employee sit in a liquor store during busy times of the day and hand out free samples to willing customers. This is a very effective sales promotion tool. People are much more willing to buy something that they have tasted and like as opposed to something new that they have never considered. Especially when it comes to alcohol in particular, people seem to be very loyal to their specific brands, which makes them very resistant to change. Psychologically, they need to be somewhat enticed into change. Most people will be reluctant to changing their behavior without some type of incentive to do so. Most people are comfortable with their routine, and when they stop at the liquor store to pick something up on their way home, they are usually on autopilot. Their visit is just another chore, another stop, before they can go home and relax and wash off the day. Consider that a large amount of men are the ones that are stopping at liquor stores on their way home from work. This is the beginning of starting to identify your target market. There are still many more things that need to be considered. Who are the typical patrons of this liquor store? Is the liquor store in a blue collar part of town? Is beer the primary seller? If so, what kinds of beer? Is the liquor store in a professional part of town where the patrons are wearing suits and ties? Is beer your primary seller there? Is wine? If so, what kind? In this case, it is important to keep an eye on the trends. If you carry what people are looking for an have a very favorable location, sales promotion will be less of a concern for you than for a store that may be having trouble getting traffic through their door. Related Articles Sales Process Sales Position